Haunted New York

New York in autumn feels both festive and unsettled: Something about the changing weather makes us curious about the cycle of life and death. It’s the perfect time to reflect upon all the feet that have walked these streets before us, and all the eyes that have watched the city evolve. Some of these eyes seem to be watching us still. You can scarcely walk a block in Manhattan without encountering a haunted landmark.

If all this talk of death makes you long for a stiff drink or a cup of coffee to clear your spooked head, visit the oldest food and drinking establishment in New York, the Bridge Café. You won't escape the ghosts, here, however: With so much history (it also used to be a brothel), the Bridge has had its fair share of opportunities for ghost stories to accumulate.

Built in 1794, the Bridge Café was a stopping point for pirates, and also had one of the most famous bouncers in New York. Gallus Mag, an Englishwoman who stood more than six feet tall, was less than kind when throwing rowdy drunks out of the establishment. She'd drag an offender through the door with his ear in her teeth and—depending on her mood—was known to bite off an ear or two and stash them in a jar. Ms. Mag's ghost is said to haunt the café today.